Mystery Monday is a
daily prompt at Geneabloggers that asks us to share mystery ancestors or
mystery records – anything in our family history research which is currently
unsolved. With any luck fellow genealogy
bloggers will lend their eyes to what has been found so far and possibly help
solve the mystery.
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| Is this John Sheehan? |
The 1892 New York City census for Brooklyn included the
household of John and Lizzie Sheehan, both born in Ireland about 1862. John was
a fireman, which made me think the mystery man in several photos might have
been wearing a fireman’s uniform. The couple had three daughters: Mary – 7,
Margaret – 4, and Annie – 6.
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| 1892 Brooklyn, NY census |
So let’s look at this family through the years as recorded
in the census records.
In 1900, there was no John and Lizzie to be found. I even
tried Eliza and Elizabeth, but no couples matched the family of 1892. FamilySearch
offered up a death record for one Annie Sheehan, age 11, with parents John and
Lizzie Sheehan. However, her age is not consistent with the Annie of 1892.
There is something peculiar about that census that makes
me suspect the enumerator made an error. Usually children are listed chronologically,
but in 1892 Annie was listed as the third child but was older than the second
child. If the enumerator entered the names and ages incorrectly, this could be
the Annie of 1892.
In 1905, the only John and Lizzie were parents of 4
children: John Jr. - 14, Nellie - 7, James – 5, and William - 2. If this is the
right John and Lizzie, why was John Jr. not enumerated in 1892 and where were
Mary and Margaret? Possibly they were married by then and out on their own. Or maybe this is a different family.
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| 1905 Brooklyn, NY census |
Yet this same family appeared in the 1910 Queens, New
York census. John’s date of birth was 1866, not the expected 1862 or 63. He had
changed careers from a laborer at the brick yard to longshoreman. Lizzie
reported 4 of 6 children living. However, if this was the same John and Lizzie
from 1892, she should have reported 4 of 7 children living. The gap between the
ages of John Jr. and Ellen (Nellie) suggests the missing children were from
that period. If so, then this is definitely a different John and Lizzie from
the 1892 couple.
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| 1910 Queens, NY census |
Another John and Lizzie family appeared in Manhattan
along with their 5 children. Four of the five were born in Ireland, and the
family had been in the United States only since 1904, so this is definitely NOT
the family I am trying to track.
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| Trip to New York 1918 My grandaunt Lillie Killeen in the backseat with "John Jr." |
In 1915, John and Lizzie of Queens and their 4 children
had moved from High Street to Nurge Street. John was no longer a longshoreman;
instead he worked as a laborer with cement. Son John was a chauffeur and son
James was a messenger boy. Nellie was a nurse girl, which probably meant she
took care of other people’s children. This census made me sit up and take
notice because of John Jr’s job as a chauffeur. Among the photos passed down to
me from my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh are photos of
family in a car with a chauffeur. That might mean nothing, but it could be
something.
And with that, John and Lizzie sightings come to an end.
There are a few records worth mentioning, however. Italiangen and Ancestry both
list a marriage for John Sheehan and Lizzie Latts on 29 August 1886. That date fits
well with the John and Lizzie of 1905-15 but less so with the couple of 1892 with
the daughter born in 1885, assuming the age and date were accurate. BUT – and it’s
a BIG BUT – FamilySearch shows a marriage on the same date between John Sheehan
and Lizzie PATTS. John’s parents were John Sheehan and Bridget Russell. MY John
Sheehan was son of Daniel Sheehan and Bridget Gorman.
FamilySearch has some birth records for children born to
John Sheehan and Lizzie Patts:
- Margaret 1889 Manhattan (mother listed as Elizabeth Patts)
- Lizzie 1891 Manhattan
- May 1894 Mahattan
However, these names and dates do not resemble the
families in any of these census records. Furthermore, they also do not appear
in any other census records with parents named John and Lizzie.
FamilySearch has death records for several children whose
parents were named John and Lizzie Sheehan:
- John born 1887 and died 1887; no mention of a cemetery
- William born 1888 and died 1888; buried at Calvary
- Agnes born 1894 and died 1895; buried at Calvary
- Annie who died in 1899 was buried at Holy Cross.
FamilySearch also has death records for a Lizzie Sheehan
who died a widow in 1906. That is obviously not the Lizzie who was alive and
well in 1915.
CONCLUSIONS:
1.
Of the two couples named John and Lizzie Sheehan
who closely fit my research parameters, the one from 1892 is not the one from
1905-1915.
2.
John and Lizzie Patts/Latts Sheehan are not my
family as proven by the marriage record which provided the names of John’s
parents.
3.
If Lizzie Patts/Latts was the widow who died in
1906, I can eliminate the 1892 family altogether and perhaps pursue the
children of the 1905-15 couple for more clues.
4.
John Sheehan of 1905-1915 did not work in jobs
that required a uniform, so even if he is MY John Sheehan, he is not the
unidentified man in the photo.
Wendy
© 2017, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.
